Before loan money was available, the early market for automobiles was limited in Pontiac and elsewhere. Car dealers could not afford inventories of more than a few vehicles, and many people could not afford to buy cars at all. By offering loans to dealers and buyers, automobile manufacturers unleashed the mass market and injected economic energy into communities. In 1919, General Motors was the first of Detroit's Big Three to do this, followed by Ford in 1959 and Chrysler in 1964. About 70 percent of automobile buyers today get loans for their vehicles, 20 percent lease, and 10 percent pay cash.